Blitzing Emily - Book Tour & Giveaway

Blitzing Emily

A Love and Football Novel

By: Julie Brannagh

Releasing Jan 7^th, 2014

Blurb

All is fair in Love and Football...

Emily Hamilton doesn't trust men. She's much more comfortable playing the romantic lead on stage in front of a packed house than in her own life. So, when NFL star and irresistible ladies' man Brandon McKenna acts as her personal white knight, she has no illusions he'll stick around. However, a misunderstanding with the press throws them together in a fake engagement that yields unexpected (and breathtaking) benefits.

Every time Brandon calls her "Sugar," Emily almost believes Brandon's playing for keeps, not just to score. Can she let down her defenses and get her own Happily Ever After?

Buy Links

Amazon * B&N * iTunes

 Ten things you didn’t know about Brandon McKenna of BLITZING EMILY

Brandon (the hero of BLITZING EMILY) is a fairly uncomplicated, easygoing guy. Let me amend that: He’s easygoing when he’s not on a football field. On Sunday afternoons from September until February each year, he’s a fierce competitor. When he’s not trying to tie some left tackle’s lungs together on his way to the guy’s quarterback, he’s a charmer. Here are a few things about Brandon you might find interesting!

      1.     Brandon was born and raised in beautiful New Orleans, Louisiana. He dreams about beignets, chicory coffee, and King Cake. He still has quite an accent!

      2.     Brandon has a bit of a sweet tooth.

      3.     Brandon’s mama made him take dancing lessons as a child. You’ll see some of his prowess on a dance floor in RUSHING AMY…

      4.     Brandon has to sit at a table and eat as much as he can hold four times a day to keep his weight up to play pro football. Emily considers this one of the most unfair things she’s ever seen.

      5.     College football recruiters started visiting Brandon’s home when he was a junior in high school. He chose Louisiana State University because they have great defensive line coaches.

      6.     Brandon has been known to walk around his house naked.

      7.     Brandon lets his cat, Deacon, sleep on his bed at night but would never admit to it.

      8.     Brandon secretly wants a Twitter account.

      9.     Brandon is extremely ticklish. He conceals this fact at all costs.

      10.  Brandon fell in love with Emily the moment he looked into her eyes for the first time.

I hope you’ll enjoy BLITZING EMILY! What are ten facts about YOU that the people in your life have no idea about?

Author Info

Julie Brannagh has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. She lives in a small town near Seattle, where she once served as a city council member and owned a yarn shop. She shares her home with a wonderful husband, two uncivilized Maine Coons and a rambunctious chocolate Lab.

Julie hasn't quite achieved the goal of owning a pro football team, so she created a fictional one: The Seattle Sharks. When she's not writing, she's reading, or armchair-quarterbacking her favorite NFL team from the comfort of the family room couch. Julie is a Golden Heart finalist and the author of four contemporary sports romances.

Author Links

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads

Link to Follow Tour HERE

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Becoming Josephine - Review

Review by Darcey Pickett

This is not your everyday love story; this story takes you back 200 years to France, during the French Revolution.  We visit several parts of France and Ms. Webb has such a way with words, you feel as if you are walking with our main character, Rose.

Rose Tascher comes to Paris with the hopes of attending Court with Alexandre, but soon those hopes are dashed as Alexandre leaves her in the middle of the French Revolution.  Rose being a very strong and determined woman of affluence, she climbs her way up in to the world of high society.  Again short lived as her friend and society member are dying for the cause.  After surviving time in what is described as I would view hell, Les Carmes, she is determined to have that status once again, and that means a total reinvention.  The transition is power as we see Rose become Josephine.  After all she has been through she realizes she has a choice to make, independence or love, surprisingly she choose the love of the man who will forever go down in history, Napoleon Bonaparte.

This was not at all the story I thought it would be.  I was pleasantly surprised to find among the pages very little about Napoleon and plenty on this very determined and incredibly strong woman – Josephine.  This world needs more female heroes such as Josephine who survived some of the most awful scenes of the French Revolution.

Not my typical type of read, but I enjoyed this book and recommend this to any woman that face any challenges in her life.  The strength of Josephine will flow from the words on the page to the depth of your soul.

Purchase book at:

Amazon * Barnes&Noble

Heather Webb grew up a military brat and naturally became obsessed with travel, culture, and languages. She put her degrees to good use teaching high school French for nearly a decade before turning to full time novel writing and freelance editing. 

When not writing, Heather flexes her foodie skills or looks for excuses to head to the other side of the world. She loves to chitchat on Twitter with new reader friends or writers or via her blog. Stop on by!

Love and Other Games - Book Tour & Giveaway

Love and Other Games

By: Ana Blaze, Melinda Dozier, Aria Kane & Kara Leigh Miller

Blurb

LOVE AND OTHER GAMES is a collection of four sexy new adult stories centered around athletes competing in the Winter Games by Ana Blaze, Melinda Dozier, Aria Kane, and Kara Leigh Miller.

Worth More Than Gold by Ana Blaze
Amy Pierce, the klutzy sister and manager of America’s Skating Sweetheart, is used to being invisible. But when a friend drags her to a party near the Olympic Village, Amy catches the eye of a sexy Norwegian ski jumper. It’s a magical night, but an awkward next morning has her running.

Everyone knows Erik Andresen’s best shot at an individual medal was back in 2010, before an injury pulled him from the competition. He’s there for his team, but a hot night and a remarkable final training session have him wondering if a gorgeous good-luck charm could give him another chance at the podium.

With a little bit of luck, these two might have a shot at something worth more than gold.

Trouble with Gold by Melinda Dozier
US snowboarder and notorious prankster, Ty (Trouble) Madsen is only getting a taste of his own medicine when his Olympic teammates shackle him to a fence wearing nothing but his boxers.

Reception and protocol volunteer, Nadia Hoffman, gets up close and personal with the sexy snowboarder to rescue him, but she's not the kind of girl who lets her hormones get in her way. A professional performance could help her land her dream job at Olympics Committee Headquarters, but her new assignment supervising the rambunctious US Snowboarding Team is making that difficult. Can she see behind the snowman in the community center bathroom and into the warm heart of the man everyone calls Trouble?

The Girl behind the Gold by Aria Kane
Greek aerial skier Lia Milonas’s parents are about to lose the family farm. Saving it means medaling and landing a huge sponsor. While her no-nonsense attitude has her well on her way to a medal, it hasn’t won her a place in fans' hearts.

“Come back with a story that will make readers cry, or don’t come back.” This is what Brandon James’ boss told him before he left New York to cover the Winter Games for Moment Magazine. With a wink and a smile, he can charm his way into any invite-only party, but that career-making story is nowhere to be found – until he meets Lia.

The two strike a deal that should get them both what they want - but neither would have guessed they’d also find what they need.

Ice Gold by Kara Leigh Miller
Colton Campbell thrives on the fast paced, adrenaline rushed lifestyle of being an Olympic hockey player.

Despite Brenna Jessup's abhorrence for the games and the athletes, she's hand-picked as the official photographer for the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team.

When a faux pas by Brenna almost costs Colton his career, she owes him. Too bad for her, Colton doesn't want apologies -- he wants retribution! And he knows just how to get it -- and her -- in the process.

Buy Links

Amazon * B&N

The Golden Girls: Collaboration in the Digital Age

Guest Post By Aria Kane

The story behind the idea that led to Love and Other Games is well documented (click! It includes the phrase “70,000 condoms wasn’t enough”), but I get a lot of questions on how it was to work with my three co-authors. Namely: How’d you keep track of everything? How were decisions made?

The first question’s easy to answer: Google Docs. Sure, we had literally thousands of emails back and forth about everything, but all important information went in a Google Docs folder we all had access to. There were documents for character sketches, timelines, publishers to submit to, query information, even setting & character inspiration photos! When it was time to revise, our manuscripts even went in that folder for critique from the other authors.

I have a feeling that when people ask the second question, what they’re really asking is: what did you do when you disagreed? And that’s a much harder question to answer. When you’re writing a book on your own, you get to make all the major decisions yourself (at least, at the start).  With a project like this, everything has to be run through your collaborators.

And the key to this is two distinct things: respect and communication.

If one of us felt uncomfortable with something or didn’t agree, we were not afraid to let the other ladies know.  I have a strong personality and strong opinions and that can sometimes be intimidating (especially in email), I know, but it was clear from the beginning that everyone had equal say in the major decisions.

 I chose these ladies to work on this project with me because I already respected them. In conversations, each person’s opinion was just as valuable as anyone else’s. Some decisions (like which publisher to go with) were harder than others and there are always compromises to be made, but in the end, I feel so honored to have worked on this project with these three wonderful Golden Girls. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I’m doing it again (twice!) in 2014! So keep an eye out for more awesome collaborative projects from us (and extra guests) this year.

Author Info and Links

Aria Kane is a recovering mechanical engineer and romance writer. As a military brat, she grew up all over the country, but now lives in sunny Florida with a 60 lb mutt who thinks he's a chihuahua.

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Kara Leigh Miller

Born and raised in the small town of Mexico, New York, Kara was an only child who was forced to find ways to entertain herself. Playing make believe with her Barbie dolls and stuffed animals was her first real taste of storytelling before she became old enough to develop a love affair with the written word.

In early 2010, Kara picked up her very first romance novel, and she was instantly hooked. She loves to write contemporary romance, new adult, and young adult romance. Currently she has several full-length novels in the works, a series of novellas, and a handful of short stories. Kara is an active member of the CNY Creative Writers Café and the CNY Romance Writers.

Today, Kara resides in New Haven, New York with her husband, five kids, and three cats. When she's not reading or writing, she's thinking about reading and writing. And when she's not doing that, she's spending time with her family and friends.

Recently, Kara has taken on the position of Managing Editor for the Surge Imprint at Anaiah Press, LLC -- a Christian fiction press. She's working exclusively in the young adult and new adult line. 

Website * Facebook

Melinda Dozier lives in Guatemala, Central America, with her husband, three boys and German Shepherd.  She enjoys being the queen of her household and dreams of being pampered fully by her boys once they’re grown. 

Learn more about her at:

Website * Blog * Facebook

Ana Blaze

Ana lives just outside Washington DC with her very supportive husband and three rather demanding cats. She loves the ocean, Indian food, Ikea, and cooking. Ana admits to watching too much television and she swears that someday she’s going to learn how to play the guitar resting on the bookshelf in her office.

Twitter * Pinterest

Rafflecopter Giveaway (Nook Simple Touch (see terms for international) and Swag Pack from Aria Kane (Olympic bracelet, evil eye necklace, bookmarks) (US only)

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The After Wife - Review & Giveaway

Review by Darcie Czajkowski

Hannah Bernal is in love. With her husband. Her daughter. Her friends. Her life.

So why did her husband have to go and die?

That is what Hannah thinks when her husband, John, pedals off one morning to the farmer’s market and never returns.  Hit by a car.  Gone in an instant.

Depression befalls Hannah.

No, that is not accurate.  Hannah is deeply, wholly, down-to-the-bone entrenched in grief.  She never deserved John.  Or at least that’s what she believes, particularly when she compares her average looks to John’s superhero, well, everything.

But her Grief Team will help her through it.  They always do. They never leave her side. They being: Jay – the over-the-top gay, Chloe – the all-natural, green-tea-drinking, grungy-dog-obsessing girlfriend, and Aimee – the Hollywood-wannabe-but-never-gonna-be girlfriend.

Hannah isn’t convinced that she can ever recover.  In her words, she’s a “good-enough mom” who was married to “Super dad.” And if that isn’t depressing enough, Hannah starts seeing – and talking to – dead people, which only creates a whole host of new issues.  Like unemployment.  Or what would be funemployment if John hadn’t forgotten to pay the bills and hadn’t left their financials in complete and total disarray.

Will she make it out alive, or will her communications with those from beyond pull her to the dark side?

The After Life tells the story of a grieving widow trying to survive in L.A. In the land of the happy, perfectly groomed and composed, Hannah feels out of place – to say the least. For anyone who has ever felt lost after the death of a loved one or felt out of place in a city where they are unlike everyone around them, this story teaches you to cling to those whom you care about and those who care about you. Savor the moments you have with your loved ones and, when the time comes, look back on the good times you shared with them.

Gigi Levangie Grazer’s talent lies wry humor, quick wit, and pithy one-liners.  She definitely knows the ins and outs of Hollywood and the insider story of how hard it is to become something in LaLa Land. So if you’re craving a laugh and a peek inside the glitz and glam of Los Angeles (or the façade of glitz and glam), be sure to check out Levangie Grazer’s latest smash hit.

About the Author:

Gigi Levangie Grazer is the author of three prior novels: Rescue Me (2000), Maneater (2003), and The Starter Wife (2006). The Starter Wife was adapted for an Emmy Award-winning USA Network miniseries starring Debra Messing, and later for a television series; Maneater was adapted for a Lifetime miniseries starring Sarah Chalke in May 2009. In addition, Gigi wrote the screenplay for Stepmom, starring Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon. Gigi's articles have appeared in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Glamour. She lives in L.A. with her two children and three miniature dachshunds.

Connect with Gigi at:

Website * Facebook * Twitter

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Enjoy Your Stay - Cover Reveal & Giveaway

Book Title: Enjoy Your Stay (Sugartown #2)

Author: Carmen Jenner

Publisher: Independent

Genre: Contemporary New Adult

Release Date: March 3, 2014

Cover Designer: Frankie Rose 

Synopsis:

The last thing Holly Harris expected was to wind up nineteen, knocked-up, and all alone. When Coop left to pursue his dreams of becoming a rock god, he left a tiny piece of him behind.

Holly wishes he hadn’t.

Jackson wishes he hadn’t.

Jackson Rowe tried filling the void his family left by drinking, screwing around, and leaving a string of heartbroken women in his wake. Moving back to Sugartown should have been easy, but he hadn’t counted on the fact his sometimes attraction to Holly would still be alive and kicking—and he sure as hell hadn’t counted on her being pregnant with another man’s baby.

They drive one another crazy, and yet they can’t stay away.

When old flames resurface, and even older wounds are torn open, can two people so similar make it work? Or will their stubbornness only drive them further apart?

*Content Warning. Intended for a mature 18+ audience. Contains angst, a crap-tonne of profanity, short-tempered Australian wildlife, and some very pregnant sex.

About the Author:

Carmen Jenner is a thirty-something author, doctor, pilot and CIA agent.

She's also a compulsive, flagrant prevaricator who gets to make things up for a living.

While Sugartown may not technically exist, Carmen grew up in a small Australian town just like it, and just like her characters, she always longed for something more. They didn't have an Elijah Cade, though. If they did, you can be sure she would have never left.

Connect with the Author at:

Website * Welcome to Sugartown Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads * Carmen Jenner Street Team * Pinterest

Giveaway

(5) eBook Copies of Welcome to Sugartown

(1) e-ARC of Enjoy Your Stay

(2) Swag Packs

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Destined For Love - Review & Giveaway

Destined for Love

The Bradens Series Book Two

By: Melissa Foster

Blurb

Rex Braden is wealthy, hard working, and fiercely loyal. Sweat at his brow, he works the family ranch by day, then kicks back at night with part time lovers who require nothing more than his physical presence a few times each week. But that was before. Before Jade Johnson, the daughter of the man his father has been feuding with for over forty years, moves back into town.

After ditching a horrific relationship—and her veterinary practice in the process—Jade Johnson returns to the safety of her small hometown and finally finds her footing. That is...until her horse is injured and Rex Braden comes to her rescue. The last thing she needs is a bull-headed, too-handsome-for-his-own-good Braden complicating her life.

Despite the angry family history, sparks fly between Rex and Jade, and attitudes follow. Fifteen years of stifled, forbidden love stirs a surge of passion too strong for either to deny—and the rebel in each of them rears its powerful head. Loyalties are tested, and relationships are strained. Rex and Jade are about to find out if true love really can conquer all.

Buy Links

Amazon * B&N

Review by Marlene Engel

Well before Rex was born, the Braden and Johnson families have had a long standing feud that has been coined the modern day Hatfield and McCoys.  But when Rex spies Jade Johnson in need of rescuing, he doesn’t hesitate to come to her aid.   Knowing that both of their fathers would not approve of their communicating they kept this encounter under their hats.  And, despite the cold interaction between the two, neither one could deny the desire they secretly feel towards the other. 

Since they were kids, they secretly pined for one other.  But knowing that their families would never approve, neither revealed those feelings.  But now that they’re adults, and Jade was back in Colorado, neither could control their feelings and desires towards each other.  However, they both knew that in order to spend time together, they had to keep their relationship a secret.  This was especially difficult for Rex who always praised himself on being a loyal son.  But as their feelings grew stronger, neither wanted to hide how they felt.  Both were prepared to stand up to their father’s, even if that meant that they had to leave the town they lived in to be with each other. 

Destined For Love is book five (of nine) in the Love In Bloom Series.  With each new book, I find myself falling more and more in love with the characters.  The emotions they have feel so real and authentic.  I feel like I’m right there with them witnessing everything they’re going through.  I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it!  Don’t miss out on a great romance that will have you longing for a cowboy of your own!

Author Info

"Melissa Foster is a wonderful connector of readers and books, a friend of authors, and a tireless advocate for women. She is the real deal"-- Bestselling Author Jennie Shortridge

"What sets Melissa Foster apart are her compelling characters who you care about... desperately. This is psychological suspense at its most chilling. I dare you to read the first chapter and not be hooked."  International bestseller, M.J. Rose 

Melissa Foster is an award-winning, International bestselling author. Her books have been recommended by USA Today's book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the Women’s Nest, a social and support community for women, the World Literary Café. When she's not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on Fostering Success. Melissa is also a community builder for the Alliance for Independent Authors. She has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine. 

Author Links

Website * Facebook * Twitter * My social network for women * World Literary Café * Fostering Success * Facebook (Fanpage) * Goodreads 

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Where Petals Fall - Review & Giveaway

BLURB

On the surface Junie Olson’s life looks idyllic, from her handsome husband and beautiful daughter to her successful business, the bakery she always dreamed of opening. But in the past few months her world has slowly unraveled.  Her precocious child is withdrawing, showing unexplainable signs of emotional regression, a condition that frays the bonds of Junie’s once impenetrable marriage.  When her father dies suddenly of a heart attack, Junie packs up her daughter and goes home to help her mother.  Her homecoming stirs up memories of the nightmare she thought she had put behind her, the disappearance of her childhood friend, Ellen.  Haunted by recurring memories of what happened on that fateful day, Junie must gather the courage to revisit her past and untangle the secrets surrounding her missing friend, and the trauma that has caused her little girl to climb back into herself. As the pieces come together on the event that shook her small town, and at the risk of losing everyone she loves, Junie will question everything she thought she could rely on and everyone she thought she knew.

WHERE PETALS FALL is a gripping and emotional novel with an undercurrent of suspense, featuring a determined mother whose world slowly comes apart around her.  Where Petals Fall will appeal to fans of Lisa Scottoline's Save Me or Jodi Picoult's Salem Falls, who love an emotional and gripping read. They will root for Junie as they follow her transition into an indomitable heroine who must reconcile what she discovers about her husband and family’s tragic past, and find a way to put the pieces of her family back together and carry on. 

Review by Marlene Engel

Junie, Brian, and their four year old daughter, Sarah, recently moved into a new house.  But since the move, Sarah has begun to regress … no longer talking and wetting the bed.   They have taken her to countless specialists and have yet to receive an actual diagnosis.  Stressed out over Sarah, and the fact that it’s put a wedge between her and her husband, Junie also learns of her father’s sudden passing.  Not wanting her mother to be alone Junie and Sarah make their way to Pennsylvania to be with her.

But being back in her childhood home brings back flashes of memories for Junie.  When she was seven, her best friend (and Brian’s sister), Ellen, went missing.  She was never found and there weren’t any leads to her disappearance.  So why was Junie all of a sudden seeing disturbing flashes from her past?  A past that she can’t even fully remember.  She remembers the day that Ellen went missing, but the details surrounding it and the days following it were blank. 

As Junie continues to have these flashes, she starts to question the people in her life that she has trusted the most.  She begins to ask herself if they had any involvement in Ellen’s disappearance and questions the safety of her daughter and herself.  Will the past come back to haunt everyone?  And are the people she loves really the people she thought they were?  Junie is determined to find out the answers.  Even if it threatens to tear apart her family!

Where Petals Fall is a women’s fiction, suspense novel.  I have to be honest in saying that it’s not the usual genre that I read, but I could not put this book down.  I started it in the morning and couldn’t go to bed until I finished it that night.  Yes, it was THAT good!  It had my emotions going in over drive.  From one page to the next, I had no clue what was going to happen next.  I was literally on the edge of my seat in anticipation.  The story was brilliantly written, the characters felt so real and it had more twists and turns than a theme park roller coaster!  The author, Melissa Foster, is a literary genius!  I highly recommend this book and can honestly say that it is one of the best books I’ve ever read!

About the Author:

Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes contmporary romance, new adult, contemporary women's fiction, suspense, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Her books have been recommended by USA Today's book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the Women’s Nest, a social and support community for women, and the World Literary Café. When she's not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on  Fostering Success. Melissa has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine. 

Melissa hosts an annual Aspiring Authors contest for children and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Melissa lives in Maryland with her family.

Visit Melissa on The Women's Nest, Fostering Success, or World Lit Cafe. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups, and welcomes an invitation to your event.

Author Links

Website * Facebook * Twitter * My social network for women * World Literary Café * Fostering Success * Facebook (Fanpage) * Goodreads 

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